Helotes mastering challenges of growth

Updated 10:53 pm, Sunday, February 16, 2014

Helotes reached several milestones last year, including the building of a Walmart and completion of additions to Old Town Helotes.

Helotes reached several milestones last year, including the building of a Walmart and completion of additions to Old Town Helotes.

Photo: Marvin Pfeiffer / San Antonio Express-News

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In 2012, Bloomberg Business
Week named Helotes the “Best Small Town to Raise Kids in Texas.”

In 2012, Bloomberg Business
Week named Helotes the “Best Small Town to Raise Kids in Texas.”

Photo: Marvin Pfeiffer / San Antonio Express-News

Helotes mastering challenges of growth

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HELOTES — City officials say this northwest suburb of San Antonio is in the midst of its most significant change since it was incorporated in 1981.

Known to some as “The Gateway to the Hill County,” Helotes has been celebrated for its small-town charm that includes landmarks such as Old Town Helotes and the John T. Floore's Country Store.

Since Mayor Tom Schoolcraft's election in 2007, Helotes has survived a major flood, created a community band, added new events such as a jazz festival and built a new fire and police station in 2010 — saving enough money in the process, officials note, to create the town's first emergency dispatch center.

And its established festivals — including the annual Cornyval celebration and the Highland Games and Celtic Music Festival —continue to attract ever-increasing crowds.

Last year alone, Helotes reached several milestones.

The city witnessed the opening of its first Walmart, the completion of additions to the Old Town Helotes district and launched a public access channel on Time Warner Cable — the first suburban city in Bexar County with one. In addition, residents saw the third consecutive year of decreased property tax rates.

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The town scored a majored victory when it was allowed to annex more than eight square miles of land last June from the city of San Antonio.

In 2012, Bloomberg BusinessWeek named Helotes the “Best Small Town to Raise Kids in Texas.”

“We're looking to the future of our city economically maybe 20 or 30 years into the future,” Schoolcraft explained. “By assuring that we have room to grow both residentially and commercially — to me that's the biggest thing that's ever happened.”

City Economic Development Specialist Glenn Goolsby said Helotes stands apart from San Antonio and other suburban cities.

“I think we also just now are offering services that increase the quality of life for our citizens where they don't have to go outside the city as much to make everyday purchases,” Goolsby said.

There is still some concern, however, about exactly where Helotes will be in the next 10 to 20 years.

According to the Census Bureau, Helotes' population grew twice as much from 2010 to 2012 as the state rate. The city's estimated 7,880 citizens have a median age of 41, suggesting the growth is from families choosing to live outside of San Antonio, accepting longer travel times to work. By comparison, Helotes only had 1,591 residents in 1990.

“Every 10 years is a long time, but every 10 years our population has doubled. It's explosive growth,” Goolsby said. “It's nice to see, but it's definitely changing the environment. Helotes for a long time has had an older population, and that's definitely switching around. It's a lot more young professionals moving into the area.”

With the population increases, a new housing boom and an influx of commercial developers, the town's identity is changing, and some wonder whether it will be for the best.

“There's a pattern of a fear that San Antonio is going to come and overwhelm cities and just simply gobble them up. The people who live there and move there want to retain their identity and the character of the community,” Tangum explained.

“How can you do that when by 2050 this metropolitan area will probably double in size and population? How do we not lose those communities in terms of their integrity and what makes them special?” he asked. “We don't want to have everything look like a McDonald's strip center.”

Helotes city officials have had their critics. Big-box stores are considered city killers by some, while the traffic problems that come with increased population make residents cringe at the thought of more development.

And there is a history: In 2004, former Mayor Jon Allan led a move for a moratorium on construction of a Walmart store at Scenic Loop Road and Texas 16. Grassroots resistance led to a 3,000-signature petition opposing Walmart's plans, citing environmental, historical and cultural concerns about the proposed development. The retail giant dropped its plans in late 2005, but later relocated to another Helotes site.

“Before I got in as mayor,” Schoolcraft said, “there was a moratorium against any new commercial construction. They just wouldn't allow it. That's the other extreme from allowing just anything to come in and do whatever they want without any controls. We try to stay in that middle.”

The mayor noted legal implications.

“You can't discriminate against any businesses if they are qualified to come in,” he said, pointing out that Walmart was one of the developments that met the qualifications to open.

But Schoolcraft also knows the city's growth has provided benefits to residents.

“We didn't even have anywhere to go to buy groceries without going into San Antonio,” Schoolcraft said. “Well, now people can do most of their shopping and never leave Helotes.”

Tangum has seen many towns and residents battle with the “not in my backyard” mentality, but he believes there always needs to be an open and honest dialogue between residents and city officials.

“It always comes back to the individual circumstances of the community,” Tangum explained. “You've got to really sit down and evaluate it. What's important is to build a community consensus on what's important there and get people to understand that. Then from that you can build visions.”